May. 4, 2015

Op-Ed article by political scientist Robert J Spitzer examines data showing beefed-up 'Stand Your Ground' laws in Florida and across country have resulted in increased gun violence and mayhem, and have utterly failed in their goal of increasing public safety; argues that laws have created absurd protections for gun owners, and reinforced a dangerous 'shoot first and ask questions later' mentality. MORE

Mar. 12, 2015

Police and prosecutors in New York City are struggling with how to classify death of Gilbert Drogheo, who was fatally shot by retired correction officer William J Groomes during subway altercation; district attorney's office is still weighing whether use of force was justified; police charge Drogeho's friend Joscelyn Evering with assault and menacing in same incident. MORE

May. 8, 2014

Killing of 17-year-old German exchange student Diren Dede in Missoula, Montana, has renewed criticism of 'castle doctrine' laws and exposed cultural gulf between Germany and a gun-loving American state; Markus Kaarma has been charged with deliberate homicide, but is expected to use as defense laws allowing Montana residents wider latitude to use force to defend their homes. MORE

Apr. 4, 2014

Florida State Senate gives final approval to bill that would allow gun owners to fire warning shots to ward off attackers in dangerous situations. MORE

Mar. 15, 2014

Sentencing of Michael Dunn, who was convicted of attempted murder for shooting at three teenagers after a confrontation over loud music, will be delayed until after his new trial on the remaining first-degree murder charge; jury was unable to reach a verdict on whether Dunn fatally shot Jordan Davis in self-defense or did so intentionally. MORE

Mar. 1, 2014

Prosecutors in Georgia will not charge Joe Hendrix for shooting Ronald Westbrook, 72-year-old Alzheimer’s patient he feared was trying to break into his house. MORE

Feb. 20, 2014

Unidentified juror in the Florida murder trial of Michael Dunn, who fatally shot teenager Jordan Davis in a dispute over loud music, says in an interview that three jurors believed the gunman had acted in self-defense, which negated any chance of a first-degree murder conviction. MORE

Feb. 17, 2014

News analysis; jury's failure to acquit or convict Michael Dunn on premeditated murder charge in shooting death of Jordan Davis may have illuminated problems with Florida's contentious self-defense law; jury wrestled with question of how to know when lethal force is justified. MORE

Feb. 16, 2014

Jury in trial of Michael Dunn, white Florida man who fatally shot black teenager Jordan Davis in parking lot dispute over loud music, finds Dunn guilty of three counts of second-degree attempted murder but says it cannot decide if Dunn is guilty of first degree murder; racially tinged trial has set off another firestorm over state's self-defense laws. MORE

Feb. 13, 2014

Prosecutors hammer away at the self-defense claim made by Michael Dunn, Florida man accused of shooting teenager Jordan Davis after a dispute over loud music; prosecution disputes Dunn's claim that he saw a shotgun. MORE

Feb. 12, 2014

Michael Dunn, Florida man accused of fatally shooting 17-year-old black student Jordan Davis, tells Jacksonville jury that his decision to fire repeatedly at vehicle in gas station was matter of self-defense; Dunn struggles to preserve his credibility after his distraught fiancee takes stand and contradicted some major points of his testimony. MORE

Feb. 7, 2014

First-degree murder trial of Michael D Dunn begins in Jacksonville, Fla; white software developer says he killed black teenager Jordan Davis in self-defense in Nov 2012 after confrontation over loud music; while race is woven into background of trial, case appears likely to focus more on the mechanics of Florida’s self-defense laws and how juries apply them. MORE

Jan. 22, 2014

Argument between two Navy veterans over texting in a Florida movie theater, which led to fatal shooting of Chad Oulson by retired Tampa police commander Curtis J Reeves Jr, sparks national debate about legal firearms in public spaces; Reeves, who has been charged with second-degree murder, is claiming he acted in self-defense, and is reportedly likely to seek immunity under Florida's hotly debated Stand Your Ground law. MORE

Jan. 15, 2014

Florida Judge Lynn Tepper denies bond for Curtis J Reeves Jr, retired Tampa police captain who killed Chad Oulson after argument in Florida movie theater; Reeves is charged with second-degree murder in case that is likely to revolve around Florida's much-debated self-defense laws; Reeves told detectives he feared he was under attack when victim hit him in face with unknown object, which witnesses say was popcorn. MORE

Dec. 4, 2013

Investigators in Georgia are weighing whether to charge Joe Hendrix in the shooting death of Ronald Westbrook, who suffered from Alzheimer's and was killed while trying to gain entry to Hendrix's house; decision exposes the challenge of balancing the right to use deadly force to defend oneself with the imperfect reality of snap decisions. MORE

Nov. 24, 2013

Editorial criticizes Ohio's Republican-controlled Legislature for trying to enact a Stand Your Ground gun law; notes that urban urban government leaders have said that such a law would compound risks in inner-city neighborhoods where gun mayhem hits hardest. MORE

Nov. 16, 2013

Detroit prosecutor charges Theodore P Wafer with second-degree murder in killing of Renisha Marie McBride; rejects Wafer's assertion that he had been acting in self-defense when he opened his front door and fired a shotgun at the woman through a locked screen door; shooting has ignited anguished conversation in the largely black city about why another unarmed black person has been killed and whether anyone would be called to account. MORE

Nov. 15, 2013

Relatives and friends of Renisha Marie McBride believe she was merely seeking help at a stranger’s house when she was shot in the face, whereas authorities say the homeowner thought she was trying to break in; death has stirred long-simmering racial tensions between mostly black Detroit and its whiter suburbs and provoked comparisons to other racially charged cases around the country. MORE

Nov. 12, 2013

Autopsy report classifies the fatal shooting of Renisha McBride in a Detroit suburb as a homicide; McBride's death, on property of white homeowner, has sparked protests from civil rights groups. MORE

Nov. 11, 2013

Civil rights groups protest in Detroit after young black woman Renisha McBride was shot on the porch of a suburban home while apparently seeking help after a car accident. MORE

Oct. 18, 2013

Washington State appeals court says that a defendant who successfully used self-defense claim is entitled to reimbursement for lost wages and other costs, as well as legal fees, major ruling on the 'stand your ground' debate over personal safety. MORE

Sep. 19, 2013

Jeweler in Nice, France, is being praised as a hero and criticized as a vigilante after prosecutors say he fatally shot in the back a teenager who had robbed him; case has set off a national debate in France about how to define self-defense. MORE

Aug. 16, 2013

Dream Defenders, group of students pushing for changes to the Stand Your Ground provision in Florida’s self-defense laws, end sit-in at Gov Rick Scott's office after failing to secure a special legislative session on the issue. MORE

Feb. 23, 2013

State task force concludes that Florida’s 'stand your ground' law should not be overturned, but that standards for neighborhood watch groups should be reviewed. MORE

Aug. 10, 2012

Lawyers for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin, will seek a hearing under the Stand Your Ground self-defense law that could result in the dismissal of the criminal charges. MORE

Jul. 26, 2012

Many women are trying self-defense classes that emphasize fitness and friendship, rather than focusing on scary scenarios and statistics about violence against women. MORE

Jul. 10, 2012

Editorial lauds a federal court decision striking down a nonsensical Florida gun law that prohibited doctors from discussing firearms with their patients; expresses hope that Florida's other extreme gun laws will be reversed, particularly the gravely loosened Stand Your Ground self-defense statute that has granted immunity to hundreds of shooters in the state. MORE

Apr. 26, 2012

Editorial expresses outrage that Florida Gov Scott Brown appointed some of state's most gun-friendly legislators to task force examining Stand Your Ground law, at issue in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin; calls on task force's more moderate members to work hard to ensure that the public understands the law's full record of mayhem. MORE

Apr. 13, 2012

More than two dozen so-called Stand Your Ground statutes across the country are coming under increased scrutiny following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin; laws have proliferated following intense campaign by the National Rifle Association to expand self-defense statutes as well as laws that legalize the carrying of concealed weapons. MORE